Canadian Poetry. For the Classy

Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing over 7,000 Pounds

We have seen the Queen of cheese,
Laying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze --
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.

All gaily dressed soon you'll go
To the great Provincial Show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.

Cows numerous as a swarm of bees --
Or as the leaves upon the trees --
It did require to make thee please,
And stand unrivalled Queen of Cheese.

May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to send you off as far as
The great World's show at Paris.

Of the youth -- beware of these --
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek; then songs or glees
We could not sing o' Queen of Cheese.

We'rt thou suspended from baloon,
You'd caste a shade, even at noon;
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon.

James McIntyre
(1827-1906)

Notes

1] The cheese was made by James Harris at the Ingersoll factory (99).
6] the great Provincial Show: the Toronto Industrial Exposition, founded in 1878, and lit by electricity in 1882, where 22 of 23 buildings focused on agriculture (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2nd edn. [Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988]: 345).
16] The great World's show at Paris: in 1889 the Effel Tower was built for this exhibition, established in 1851 in London.

Rhoda: An Elegy

For the past few months I have been working on an Adventure Comic you may have read named Rhoda Dyck Around the World. It was a labor of love, born out of a few suggestions given by others near the start of the year, my wanting to experiment on an adventure format, and an art style that I had previously used to draw some very popular portraits. It was near the end of last semester that new comics slowed in coming, and with a few exceptions--mainly as a technical demo for some new coloring--stopped altogether. I promised a return to the adventures in the New Year, and have continued working on further development for the return, but I can now say that for the moment, I have no immediate plans of releasing new Rhoda Dyck comics anytime soon.

The reason having many roots, including working on new projects, changes in time commitments, and most of all, the need for further development. I had a storyline prepared to produce this January, but cancelled in the middle of development of a strip, with few early sketches made. I am spending some time away from Rhoda, but not out of exhaustion for the character, but respect. When Rhoda returns, I want the general feeling to be that of the world expanded. I may have put more investment into the form of the last few comics, but I do not feel that I brought any insight into Rhoda, her world or anything in it.

I feel something special about Rhoda Dyck. She is not only a character left as a foundling of Pulp Novels, but something with a potential for more. My entire envisioning of her has a stench of great potential to it. She just may be the character that I dreamed of creating for years. A character that is so distinct and interesting, that her adventures are not limited only to her world. I feel Rhoda just may be somewhat like Doctor Mabuse, capable not only of changing form in story, but being in and changing the stories of others, while never needing the plot to revolve around her. 

What sketches I have done are at this moment unfinished. I will not be releasing them any time soon, if not ever. The only way these will see the light of day, in my estimation, is if they are published posthumously. I will not be working them at the moment, but will continue working towards further story development of a new arc. Who knows? Maybe they'll be integrated later into further adventures. If you take anything from this, I hope it is to realize that the potential for Rhoda Dyck is nearly endless. I will return to the character when I feel I, and she, is ready.